I can’t recall the number of bodybuilders over the past year who have e-mailed me requesting the same thing, “Can you check out my pre-contest diet?” Time and time again, the approach is the same: no carbs. A no carb or a very low carb diet can be effective. Low carbs obviously means a diet is going to be lower in calories, so that’s a plus.. Does it guarantee a ripped, fat-free physique? Hardly. Getting ripped is about controlling calories while simultaneously keeping the right hormones in balance. That’s what this series is about – providing the steps you can take to keep the right hormonal profile to help drop fat while keeping the metabolic rate humming.

Hormone and Its Actions: Testosterone. Builds strength and size.

What You Want To Do: Obviously, you want elevated levels but dieting –all diets – usually cause levels to fall.

Why You Want to Do This: Metabolism. Lower testosterone levels downgrade the metabolism. One reason has to do with growth hormone. In general, when testosterone levels decline, growth hormone (GH) also begin to slide and GH is a noted fat burner.

How You Do This Two ways. First, increase your intake of dietary fat two days out of the week; stress beef as a protein source and include egg yolks and even a small handful of nuts – all the while keeping carbs under control. While I believe an extremely low fat diet is conducive to cutting up, eating near zero fat for too long seems to lower testosterone levels. Tricking the body – adding some fat – can prevent declines in testosterone.

The second part: Radically increase carbs once a week to 3 grams of carbs per pound of bodyweight-even a little more is ok. Carbs increase insulin. One benefit: higher insulin levels can decrease levels of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). SHBG clings to testosterone in the blood and moves it around. It's a major influence affecting "how much" testosterone ultimately reaches tissues. Increasing insulin sheds SHBG from testosterone.

The result? This "frees-up" testosterone allowing it to make it to tissues – including your muscles – rather than be stuck to SHBG, unable to stimulate maximal muscle growth. Stimulating growth up-ticks the metabolism and contributes to a leaner physique.